Monta Ellis Says He’s Passing Too Much

Everyone laughed at Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban when he said that Monta Ellis had plans to become a passer this season. Turns out that Cuban wasn’t joking — it’s just that Monta took it too far, or so claims the shooting guard (who’s struggling to score in the preseason.) Per ESPN: “Ellis, the Mavericks’ explosive new shooting guard who arrived in Dallas with a rap for being inefficient, is 10-of-36 from the floor and has committed 11 turnovers in his past three games. He’s confident, however, that he knows how to get back in his groove from the first four games of the preseason. ‘I think I’m looking for the pass too much,’ Ellis said after Wednesday’s win over the Atlanta Hawks’ backups, when he had 15 points on 5-of-13 shooting, five assists and six turnovers. ‘I’ve got to be more aggressive attacking the basket, getting a couple to go down and then work to see how the defense changes.’ Ellis, who ranks fourth in the NBA with 43 assists this preseason, isn’t saying he needs to be selfish. He just believes that he’s been looking to pass too much instead of attacking and reacting. ‘There’s a lot of shots that’s been there and I’ve been making the late pass,’ Ellis said. ‘I think the majority of my turnovers come because instead of me taking that shot or making the layup, I try to pass. I’ve got to get out of that. I’ve got to be more aggressive and make the defense move.’ Ellis averaged a career-high 6.0 assists per game for the Milwaukee Bucks last season, when he split his time between shooting guard and point guard. The Mavs don’t plan for him to play much point guard, but he expects to at least equal that assist total simply because of the scoring threats around him.”